Anonymous
08/14/2021 22:04
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:My family attends school in suburban Philly. They are treating COVID like the flu. Stay home if you are sick, but no reporting, testing, quarantine.
That’s swell, but Covid is not the flu.
Two key differences: Covid is more contagious, and children <11 can’t get a vaccine for Covid.
Anonymous
08/14/2021 21:51
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
My family attends school in suburban Philly. They are treating COVID like the flu. Stay home if you are sick, but no reporting, testing, quarantine.
Anonymous
08/14/2021 18:45
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
Also I don’t trust that DC schools won’t just close for two weeks and then open again. You all showed us that you were cool having schools closed for most kids for 1.5 years. Not doing that again.
Anonymous
08/14/2021 18:14
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
NP but to the previous two PPs points a lot of this is because school was closed all of last year. If they had gotten kids back into school when rates were lower (fall and spring at the very least) there might be more consideration for mitigation strategies this year that would cause more school closures. But since they went way too risk averse last year (and really hurt many kids in the process) they really are pressured to stay open this year.
Anonymous
08/14/2021 15:55
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. CDC requires you either get a test or quarantine if you’ve had an exposure. How is sitting 3-6 ft from someone infected with covid not an exposure according to DCPS?
CDC updated its requirements (and DCPS followed suit) to recognize that if students are masked, then they aren't exposed when one of them tests positive. This is consistent with studies last year which showed that when students attend school while masked, exposures were not happening at school, and to the extent students did test positive, it was a result of exposure at home or elsewhere outside of school.
This is absolutely bonkers. As someone who has expertise in an adjacent area of public health, I’m so angry that public health guidance is a reflection of political interests rather than the public interest.
There are limited studies about transmission in the classroom, but they were all conducted *before* the Delta variant was prevalent. Epidemiologists know that Delta doesn’t need 15 minutes of exposure; it’s more contagious, and 15 minutes isn’t a magic number. Municipalities are already seeing school, camp and daycare-based transmissions. Preprint papers are talking about transmission happening in seconds, not minutes.
The whole point of the multi-layered, “swiss cheese” approach is that implementing multiple mitigation efforts reduces the risk and can make classrooms safe. But what’s the point of a cohort if they’re not going to be tested or quarantined when there’s an outbreak? CDC specifically does not count mask wearing when contract tracing for adults, but does for children. This just does not align with evolving data about the predominant variant constituting 97% of cases; it’s about politics and convenience. (Although CDC *does* say only “well-fitted and consistent” mask use is an exception to the “close contact” guidance, which honestly no student really meets).
Making politically convenient policy decisions and then justifying them by mischaracterizing the science makes my blood boil.
I agree with all of this, and I share your anger.
Every layer has been shrunk so much they're no longer layers, not even holey layers, but sprinklings of a mitigation measure. Surgical masks, opt-in asymptomatic testing, pretending the delta variant won't infect someone in the same room 7ft away, etc...
Anonymous
08/14/2021 15:50
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. CDC requires you either get a test or quarantine if you’ve had an exposure. How is sitting 3-6 ft from someone infected with covid not an exposure according to DCPS?
CDC updated its requirements (and DCPS followed suit) to recognize that if students are masked, then they aren't exposed when one of them tests positive. This is consistent with studies last year which showed that when students attend school while masked, exposures were not happening at school, and to the extent students did test positive, it was a result of exposure at home or elsewhere outside of school.
This is absolutely bonkers. As someone who has expertise in an adjacent area of public health, I’m so angry that public health guidance is a reflection of political interests rather than the public interest.
There are limited studies about transmission in the classroom, but they were all conducted *before* the Delta variant was prevalent. Epidemiologists know that Delta doesn’t need 15 minutes of exposure; it’s more contagious, and 15 minutes isn’t a magic number. Municipalities are already seeing school, camp and daycare-based transmissions. Preprint papers are talking about transmission happening in seconds, not minutes.
The whole point of the multi-layered, “swiss cheese” approach is that implementing multiple mitigation efforts reduces the risk and can make classrooms safe. But what’s the point of a cohort if they’re not going to be tested or quarantined when there’s an outbreak? CDC specifically does not count mask wearing when contract tracing for adults, but does for children. This just does not align with evolving data about the predominant variant constituting 97% of cases; it’s about politics and convenience. (Although CDC *does* say only “well-fitted and consistent” mask use is an exception to the “close contact” guidance, which honestly no student really meets).
Making politically convenient policy decisions and then justifying them by mischaracterizing the science makes my blood boil.
The public interest is kids being back in school, not constantly home for weeks. And if you're finding this that upsetting, I don't know how you made it through schools being closed last year and bars and restaurants being open, or how you're dealing with masks being required in public except if you have a drink on your table, but gyms not being allowed to require vaccinations instead. Policy decisions are all political decisions, but this one at least gets kids back to school.
Anonymous
08/14/2021 15:26
Subject: Re:No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. CDC requires you either get a test or quarantine if you’ve had an exposure. How is sitting 3-6 ft from someone infected with covid not an exposure according to DCPS?
CDC updated its requirements (and DCPS followed suit) to recognize that if students are masked, then they aren't exposed when one of them tests positive. This is consistent with studies last year which showed that when students attend school while masked, exposures were not happening at school, and to the extent students did test positive, it was a result of exposure at home or elsewhere outside of school.
This is absolutely bonkers. As someone who has expertise in an adjacent area of public health, I’m so angry that public health guidance is a reflection of political interests rather than the public interest.
There are limited studies about transmission in the classroom, but they were all conducted *before* the Delta variant was prevalent. Epidemiologists know that Delta doesn’t need 15 minutes of exposure; it’s more contagious, and 15 minutes isn’t a magic number. Municipalities are already seeing school, camp and daycare-based transmissions. Preprint papers are talking about transmission happening in seconds, not minutes.
The whole point of the multi-layered, “swiss cheese” approach is that implementing multiple mitigation efforts reduces the risk and can make classrooms safe. But what’s the point of a cohort if they’re not going to be tested or quarantined when there’s an outbreak? CDC specifically does not count mask wearing when contract tracing for adults, but does for children. This just does not align with evolving data about the predominant variant constituting 97% of cases; it’s about politics and convenience. (Although CDC *does* say only “well-fitted and consistent” mask use is an exception to the “close contact” guidance, which honestly no student really meets).
Making politically convenient policy decisions and then justifying them by mischaracterizing the science makes my blood boil.
Anonymous
08/13/2021 19:16
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
That can’t happen at any of the bigger schools.
No, but the assigned seats will help when there is a positive. I agree there's no way to spread out 6 ft in the cafeteria at my school (JKLM) but it would be some solace to know that Larla was sitting next to James and Mary etc. And, to take that pressure off the staff doing duty to memorize each table, daily (very challenging).
It also means that not every student will be within 6 feet of every other student. So the quarantine will still be limited to just the surrounding kids (rather than every single person in the cafeteria).
So 5 kids out of the class are missing. Do they get DL or no?
It’s probably more like 7-9 of you think about the way tables are set up in cafeterias.
Anonymous
08/13/2021 18:29
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
That can’t happen at any of the bigger schools.
No, but the assigned seats will help when there is a positive. I agree there's no way to spread out 6 ft in the cafeteria at my school (JKLM) but it would be some solace to know that Larla was sitting next to James and Mary etc. And, to take that pressure off the staff doing duty to memorize each table, daily (very challenging).
It also means that not every student will be within 6 feet of every other student. So the quarantine will still be limited to just the surrounding kids (rather than every single person in the cafeteria).
So 5 kids out of the class are missing. Do they get DL or no?
Doubt it.
Anonymous
08/13/2021 18:22
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
That can’t happen at any of the bigger schools.
No, but the assigned seats will help when there is a positive. I agree there's no way to spread out 6 ft in the cafeteria at my school (JKLM) but it would be some solace to know that Larla was sitting next to James and Mary etc. And, to take that pressure off the staff doing duty to memorize each table, daily (very challenging).
It also means that not every student will be within 6 feet of every other student. So the quarantine will still be limited to just the surrounding kids (rather than every single person in the cafeteria).
So 5 kids out of the class are missing. Do they get DL or no?
Anonymous
08/13/2021 18:12
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
That can’t happen at any of the bigger schools.
No, but the assigned seats will help when there is a positive. I agree there's no way to spread out 6 ft in the cafeteria at my school (JKLM) but it would be some solace to know that Larla was sitting next to James and Mary etc. And, to take that pressure off the staff doing duty to memorize each table, daily (very challenging).
It also means that not every student will be within 6 feet of every other student. So the quarantine will still be limited to just the surrounding kids (rather than every single person in the cafeteria).
Anonymous
08/13/2021 16:40
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
That can’t happen at any of the bigger schools.
No, but the assigned seats will help when there is a positive. I agree there's no way to spread out 6 ft in the cafeteria at my school (JKLM) but it would be some solace to know that Larla was sitting next to James and Mary etc. And, to take that pressure off the staff doing duty to memorize each table, daily (very challenging).
Anonymous
08/13/2021 16:23
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
That can’t happen at any of the bigger schools.
Anonymous
08/13/2021 16:13
Subject: No quarantine?
Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.
Yes, and I think if they can maintain 6 feet distance at lunch, the quarantine would not apply.
Anonymous
08/13/2021 16:00
Subject: No quarantine?
Sounds like they are going with assigned seating at lunch which makes sense. It would be impossible for those on cafeteria duty to remember where every kid was sitting when there's a positive.